Migawari
by kagome-hime1
Summary: Inuyasha and co. are nearing the end of their journey. What decisions will Kagome be forced to make?
1. Prologue: Nearing the End

Migawari  Prologue:  Nearing the End

By kagome-hime

Rated R

Disclaimer:  I do not own the rights to Inuyasha or any of its characters or settings.  I actually do not own any of it, Takahashi does.  I am not making any money off of this; it is done purely for fan enjoyment.  Thank you.

            Kagome shielded her eyes from the shimmering sun as she carefully crawled out of the well.  Smiling to herself she swung her legs over the edge of the well and gingerly leaned over, heaving her oversized backpack onto her aching shoulders.  Sighing she leisurely made her way to Kaede's village, for once allowing herself the privilege of losing herself in her mystic surroundings.  Her face softened as she gazed up at the old Goshinboku and suddenly became absorbed in reminiscence.

            Without warning she was rudely jolted out of her reverie as a hanyou plunged silently from the tree to land in front of her.  However, Kagome found herself far more taken back by the concerned look that graced this demon's face than she did at his sudden appearance.

            "Kagome, what's the matter?  Did you hurt one of your legs or something?"  Inuyasha asked slowly reaching over to grip her shoulders softly in case she should lose her balance.

            "Nothing's wrong!  I guess I'm just being really spacey today is all!"  Kagome replied with a nervous laugh her hand waving away his concern as she quickly plastered a large smile across her face.

            "You mean you were going this slow on purpose," came Inuyasha, all traces of concern were now gone to be replaced with a growing look of frustration and embarrassment.

            "It's just I had a long week.  I didn't get any rest at all:  I had to spend the whole time I was gone attempting to catch up with school, and I still don't think that I understand my math at all, and then I tried to get help from my friends; but all I ever hear from them is Houjou this, and Houjou that—"

            "Hobo?  Who is this Hobo?"

            "So, do we have any new rumors about the shikon no tama or Naraku?"

            "Who the hell is this Hobo?!"

            By now Kagome had run far ahead of Inuyasha, no longer concerned with taking her time to enjoy the scenery.

            "I'll meet you at Kaede's hut, Inuyasha!"

            "You bitch!  Answer me!"

            Kagome sighed as she approached the small village, Inuyasha nipping at her heels.  A sad smile crossed her face as she saw the rest of her small group sitting outside the hut, preparing for tomorrow's journey.  Somehow Kagome knew that their dark, heartrending story was drawing to an end.  She felt it, deep down in her heart:  soon the end would come.  Kagome was well aware that she was not yet ready for it to reach its conclusion, in the short time since she had fallen through the well this time had become a significant portion of her life.  She had grown more in the past few months than she had in the past entire fifteen years of her life.  The completion of her task would only complicate her life and ultimately leave her disheartened.  Kagome wanted nothing more than to put their quest's conclusion on hold and continue to live this double life she had grown so accustomed to.  Still, it was her duty:  she had to seek out all of the shards of the shikon no tama; she had to help to defeat Naraku.  She did all these things not only for her friends and for herself, but also for the safety of all; she did it to protect the people in this time and her own.  Still, it made her heart break to know that she could never have both her future life and her life with Inuyasha.  Soon, the day would come when she would have to choose her path.


	2. Chapter 1: The Final Adventure

Migawari  Chapter 1:  The Final Adventure

By kagome-hime

Rated R

Disclaimer:  I do not own the rights to Inuyasha or any of its characters or settings.  I actually do not own any of it, Takahashi does.  I am not making any money off of this; it is done purely for fan enjoyment.  Thank you.

            Kagome trudged along behind Sango as the small group made its way through the woods.  They had originally left in order to follow a rumor of more shikon shards; however, they had been disappointed to discover that the rumor had been nothing more than that and no shards were to be found.  Since there would be little point in returning to Kaede's village so soon, the group decided to continue traveling away from the village, in the hopes of stumbling across another shikon shard.

            It still amazed Kagome that, after all this time, there was still so much land she had yet to see in this era.  She went through her new ritual of trying to absorb her surroundings.  She tried, in vain, to etch it all into her memory.  Kagome wanted to remember every aspect of it:  the feel of the wind caressing her face, the sounds of the animals skittering though the forest, the scent of flowers long extinct in her time, the comfort of being with her trusted comrades.  Yet, despite her efforts, she knew well that it was all just too much.  Sometimes she would be sleeping under the stars and a familiar scent would remind her of home.  Suddenly, she could find herself transported back to her time, her family simply by the power of an equivalent scent from her past.  Nothing else would ever be like this, nothing could compare to it.  Kagome knew that, if she chose to leave this place behind, she could never again fully recapture the experience.

            Kagome found herself frozen as a sudden sensation ran through her body.  Over the past months Kagome had slowly grown accustomed to this feeling that would occasionally shoot through her body.  It's meaning now lay without question in her mind; a sixth sense that now seemed to be as much a part of her as her vision.  She sensed a shikon shard.

"Inuyasha!  There, to the east:  a fragment of the shikon no tama!"

Inuyasha was immediately by her side, heaving her onto his back as they quickly rushed off after her latest discovery.

"Is it close?"  Inuyasha questioned the young girl as he gracefully glided through the forest.

"I'm not sure," Kagome hesitantly answered.  "The sensation is strong; yet, there lies another, weaker feeling layered on top of it.  It's almost as if the shard is being used as a distraction from what we are truly chasing."

Inuyasha wrinkled his nose at this comment.  Suddenly, he realized that he could pick up only a few faint scents with his strong nose.  Scents that were normally overwhelming were now nothing but a dim shadow of recognition.   It was then that he remembered that it was the night of the new moon.   Growling he turned back to see the sun already beginning to set in the west.  If something truly dangerous lay ahead, his goal now should be to take Kagome somewhere safe and lie low for the night.

However, Inuyasha was not one to ever honestly consider lying low.  Surely there was nothing that he could not handle before the sun set completely.  It was probably nothing more than an insignificant youkai; unwisely feared due to his diminishing senses.  Still, Kagome seemed tense, if she was worried, there might be some cause for alarm.

"Kagome, are you gaining any clarification on the sense?"

"I don't like it, Inuyasha.  It's barely visible under the shikon shard; it's as if someone is trying to hide it from me.  And… it's evil… so evil…  It's making me feel nauseous… dizzy… I… I feel…"

"Kagome!  Are you alright?  If this is too much for you…"

Another sudden sensation shot through Kagome, this one was different from those that had come before.  Suddenly, Kagome's face took on a stern appearance as she inwardly reprimanded herself for being so weak.

'She would never be this weak…" she thought, disgusted with herself.

"Don't worry, Inuyasha:  I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I am.  We mustn't stop now, we are so close."

Inuyasha was torn.  He did not like Kagome's sudden change in mood; yet, he trusted her judgment.  For once he was relying on her senses.  If she was willing to rush into this situation, it must be safe.

Soon, they came upon a small clearing.  In this meadow lay the mutilated body of an insignificant youkai.  Kagome was immediately appalled.  In all of the time she had spent in the Sengoku Jidai, she had never seen anything so grotesque.  Standing over the body stood a man in a baboon pelt.

Inuyasha's anger immediately flared at the site of his sworn enemy.  Suddenly, he felt arms tighten around his neck.  Realization almost struck him down from his place among the trees:  he was about to go into battle with his strongest enemy as a human, with Kagome along to protect.

He halted in the treetops, hiding himself from Naraku.  Inuyasha took time to painstakingly consider the situation at hand.  It seemed to him doubtful that this could be anything more than one of Naraku's puppets.  He could not remember a time in which he had encountered the real Naraku since their adventure had begun.  Of course, with his youkai senses fading, there really was no way to tell for sure.  With that thought, Inuyasha turned back to the west.  He didn't have long, maybe thirty minutes if he was lucky, before he would be human.  

Could he really face Naraku as a human and hope to survive?  Then again, he didn't feel confident that he could out run Naraku before nightfall, either.  At least if he were to stay here and fight Naraku that would give Kagome time to escape to safety with Miroku and the others, assuming they would agree to go protect Kagome as opposed to fighting this battle.  It was then that he realized that Kirara should have reached him and Kagome by now.  Something had to have happened or they would be there already.  He could not count on them this time.  

Reluctantly, Inuyasha realized that he really didn't have any other option but to stay and fight Naraku.  Of course now he had to decide what would be best for Kagome.  At this thought he noticed that her body felt slack against his back.  He gently swung her around into his arms to find her unconscious.  

Things kept seeming to go from bad to worse.

Inuyasha sighed and gently set Kagome down against the trunk of the massive tree.  He didn't really like the idea of leaving her alone so high up.  If anything were to happen to him she would be stranded.  Of course, the rational part of his brain reminded him, if anything happened to him she was probably as good as dead anyway.  He felt his heart clench tightly as he realized that there was nothing he could do to save her if Naraku defeated him.  There was no way he could guarantee her safety this time.  Still, he had no choice; it was time to take action.

Finally deciding on a course of action, Inuyasha pulled Kagome into his arms and leaped off of the tree branch.  As he reached the ground he sprung back up to plant Kagome safely on a branch a little closer to the ground.

'If I win this, I want to be able to reach her in my human form,' he thought hopefully.

Inuyasha tenderly brushed the hair away from the young girl's face.  Hesitantly he leaned down until his lips were but a breath away from her ear.

"Always know that… I love you, Kagome," he whispered gently into her ear, uncertain that she was even able to hear him in her current state.

Inuyasha pulled himself up to place a soft kiss on Kagome's lips before finally jumping from the branch and running towards the clearing.  Running towards the unknown battle.


End file.
